Through a Board Director's Eyes: a Tale Beyond the RDNA-verse
by mdc1957
Summary: Somewhere, sometime, an old Austrian man reminisces a dark past. Of a dead world and its sole survivor. Of an Austro-Hungarian legacy left behind in the ashes of the Danube, and his efforts to somehow ease the pain. A collaborative fic connected to the RDNA-verse AU. Warning: OCs, implied character death. Update: Epilogue added and slight polishing.
1. Chapter 1: Forgotten Worlds

**Author's Notes**: Here's something a bit different to get 2015 into gear. A new multi-chapter story made in collaboration with AuFiGirl on DeviantArt. It's based on an ongoing _Hetalia_ RP between myself and her that combines my old but still ongoing RDNA-verse AU and her multiverse Agency. This one in particular is a polished-up version of an earlier fic called _Through Board Director's Eyes: Outside RDNA-verse_, itself taken directly from snippets of the RP.

The story itself is largely from the view of one of the human OC characters: Logan Herz, a senior Agent hailing from a retro-universe Austria. At the same time however, it's about the origin of sorts to another OC named Jonatan Herz: a young, talented Agent with a much darker and peculiar past involving two Nations along the Danube. And yes, Austria and Hungary are involved in this. Without spoiling anything, expect a very bittersweet tinge by the end.

As a disclaimer, I don't own _Axis Powers Hetalia_. All rights belong to their respective owners.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Through a Board Director's Eyes: A tale beyond the RDNA-verse.<em>**

**_Or, a snapshot from within the Agency._**

**Chapter 1 - Forgotten Worlds**

Deep inside the massive underground levels of the Archive Vaults of the Agency; the Hub Sanctuary.

Exiting through the elevator doors, Logan Herz, an elderly senior veteran operative of Austrian background, wasn't entirely sure why he decided to come down to the closely-guarded underground Archive Vaults. As Head Board Director in this secretive Agency's management department, he was presently in charge of overseeing operations in one particular universe codenamed "APH-RDNA-05." Some of the braniacs nicknamed it the "RDNA-verse," if he recalled correctly. Not really an operation, at least not officially.

Adjusting his necktie and suit jacket, he walked towards the large wide desk at the edge of the platform floor, overlooking seemingly endless rows of ginormous building-like blocks. Each one shaped to the exact same size, crude black with fluorescent lighting running through them from the floor down below all the way to the high ceiling above in perfect order. All showered under a nigh-mystical blue glow, giving an atmosphere so alien and artificial, yet still recognizable. It dwarfed most living beings that ever set foot into this secretive sector of the Agency. _And this is just one of many. To think I used to see this stuff in pulp rags back home,_ he smirked wearily to himself. _Back when my home still existed anyway._

Each of these towering blocks were essentially storage spaces for materials and sources that the Agency kept in digital format, a massive data bank of information and intelligence that's constantly flowing in from the organisation's million-strong operatives that were active across the multiverse. Something that powerful entities across the multiverse would envy and kill for, Logan noted as a blue holographic screen materialised from the desk in front of him. _I don't blame 'em._

A circular robotic probe approached the elderly Austrian operative. It was one of hundreds programmed to maintain the Vaults and their endless source of precious knowledge.

"[May I be of assistance?]" the machine greeted in crisp if stilted German.

"_Ja._ May I have all documents under the name 'L. Herz,' _bitte_. I don't got all day."

"[Of course.]" The hovering probe immediately went away.

Setting his fedora hat on the desk, Logan scanned through the seemingly endless series of data slates and manuscripts on the holographic screen. Despite his attire and mannerisms being "straight out of some Humphrey Bogart movie" as one of his fellow Agents put it, he had been long enough around here that the Agency's highly advanced, chrome if alien technological aesthetics were a piece of cake. _Nearly half-a-century to be exact. How time flies._

The hovering probe soon returned to the senior operative with piles and boxes of documents among other things and settling them down on the desk.

"[Here are all the documents under the name 'L. Herz', sir.]"

Logan nodded to the hovering probe, "_Danke_." His wrinked face tightening, he looked over to the neat piles of folders, each filed with papers and reports of his previous decades of service. His hands filtered through until he picked up one particular folder.

"[Ah, Report APH-0987-45. A fine choice.]"

"Find someone else to bugger on." The aging Austrian groaned as the probe paced away to resume its programmed duties.

Sighing, he returned back to the folder in his hands. In those decades when he was still active on the field, he had traveled and documented many different worlds and all of their strangeness and wonders. _The people, their history, culture and legacy. Their glories...and horrors._

As well as mentoring newer recruits, it was expected of highly ranked operatives to do "undertaker" missions: the documentation of dying or dead worlds. These were not for the faint-hearted or not-so-mentally resilient ones. He had undertaken a few of these missions towards his later years before retiring from the field.

This report on the world designated "APH-0987-45," was one of them. And one that still haunted his mind to this day. _Gott, it had to be this._

Other than his own documentation of its dying days and his subsequent report, little information was known of this now dead world. Logan opened the worn folder's yellowed files. Taking a deep breath, he glanced at the text on the top corner:

_**UNDERTAKER REPORT**_

_**DESIGNATION**__: 00450987-DNU4-A9H-W25R-NHI09-Q2-BD-88 (APH-0987-45)_

_**STATUS:**__ [DESTROYED; post-nuclear apocalypse]_

_**CAUSE(S):**__  
>Thermonuclear war<br>Possible external interference of timeline by powerful forces_

_**IMPACT:**__  
>Premature total destruction of timeline<br>Extensive destruction of associated or parallel timelines_

_**SURVIVOR(S)**__: 1_

He sighed grimly as he read through his hand-written report on the dying world. This was his last "undertaker" mission and as much as he regretted it, he was the only one in the original expedition to even associate with that long-gone timeline. Compared to the official database, his actual folder contained information that proved to be too sensitive that it had to be classified. _And for good reason..._

Some of the yellowed files were his own papers while others were taken from that very world. He put each one aside once he briefly skimmed through them. Before long, he soon came across an old, crude photograph, yellowing and faded in parts. One of a seemingly young family. Picking it up gently, Logan couldn't help but feel his stomach sink as he looked at it more carefully. _Them._

In the nearly colorless photograph, there was a tall, bespectacled man who looked weary but still had the composure of a proud nobleman. His glasses cracked on one lens and a peculiar strand of hair stuck out to a curl. Next to the man was a frail-looking young woman with long wavy hair an an odd flower sniffled over her left ear that had since withered away. Their faces aged and frail, despite their apparent youth. Both wore the tattered remains of their uniforms, which covered their scarred skin. Their worn eyes however, still glimmered with life. _Especially in the blasted hellhole they lived in._ At the center of the photograph was the couple's young son. Smiling, despite the unseen hardship in the photograph, his eyes shining up brightly with hope. _Until those warlords took that boy away from them..._

By then, Logan's weary eyes became heavy. "_Gott_," he muttered aloud to no one in particular. "If only I came sooner." He could have saved the family. The parents especially, and not leave their child orphaned. Carrying the burden alone with the tragic legacy of their world. But that left open an entire world of possibilities. _Would the kid's true parents have survived the journey? And for how long?_

He put the old photograph back down onto the desk, sighing heavily as memories came back. There was much work to do. Though one thing was for certain: their son loved them so much. So much that even now, it broke him.

"It's been 15 years now. Hasn't it, Jonatan?"

* * *

><p><strong>For some added information:<strong>

The Agency, as it's known in human tongue, is an interdimensional organisation crossing between the multiverse. For those-in-the-know, its main objective is knowledge and intelligence with the largest database in existence. The organization employs millions of operatives across its operations from different worlds and backgrounds, both human and alien. It also hosts the largest refugee center in the multiverse for the "displaced" within its domain: the Hub Sanctuary, which itself is a world of its own. Due to its abundance of precious data and network of outreaching contacts, the Agency remains "invisible" and officially under a neutral stance for those aware of its existence. _Allegedly_. Many however believe that it does not exist at all.

The Royal Dominion of New Austria is one of the major "Free Nations" in the so-called RDNA-verse. Essentially, this is the result of the Austrian Habsburgs rather than the Spanish settling and raising up what our world would call Mexico. By the 2010s of the AU though, it's long since become home to the Habsburg Throne-in-Exile, their Austro-Hungarian homelands lost to the "Terror."


	2. Chapter 2: A Danubian End

**_Through a Board Director's Eyes: A tale beyond the RDNA-verse._**

**_Or, a snapshot from within the Agency._**

**Chapter 2 - A Danubian End**

15 years ago...

Logan reappeared back in the Portal Terminal from the ruined world. Exhausted and worn down, he stumbled out of the portal-platform and into the stunned operators and onlookers, the rest of his "undertaker" expedition following suit. But exhausted as he was, it did not deter his urgent desperation. The young boy in his arms was at the brink of death. _Nein, not on my watch!_

"He needs emergency medical treatment now!" he cried out in German. "_Bitte,_ can anyone get me a damn doctor?!"

He only just rescued this boy, the only living survivor left in that dead world, moments ago. As the unconscious figure was teleported away to the Medical Centre, the senior operative was forced to go through the decontamination process, all to make sure that he was not affected by the harmful radiation or God knew what else that poisoned the kid's homeworld. But for the senior Agent, each passing second felt excruciatingly long. _I could still see those rotting...Verdammt, can't this get any slower?!_

The moment the safety checks were completed, he wasted no time and briskly rushed towards the Medical Centre. Only to be stopped by an old friend.

"Logan!" A firm feminine voice with a British accent called out to the Austrian. "There's a huge commotion among the medics with that stowaway of yours!"

Her turned and saw Catherine Kimberly, a long-time friend and former partner, donning the senior medical officer's uniform of the Agency's Medical department.

"I'll explain on the way," he quickly said in his heavy accented English while she followed suit. "Do you know where the kid is?"

"The boy? He's being put in the stasis bed pods, I've heard. Poor soul's near dying from severe radiation. Can you explain to me what the blazes is going on?"

She led him through the complex maze of hallways of the huge Medical Centre complex. It was essentially its own micro-community of medical staff, health workers and their patients in its own district. But even here, he could still smell the dust and decay of the world he had just come from. _Much like how my old home turned out...Schiesse, focus!_

"What _else_ do you need to know?!" he snapped. "That kid's the only one left alive from that hellhole!"

The medical officer gasped in shock. "I-Impossible! Readings said the bloody world was devoid of life!"

_I've got no time for this._ "Then we might need to get our equipment checked," Logan grunted. "Why else did I go back to that world in the first place?!"

Exiting through the elevator doors, Catherine led the weary veteran operative through the busy, recognizably familiar corridors of the Intensive Care Unit. Throngs of medical staff were on duty, not all of which human. Soon enough they made their way through a quieter hallway towards the life-saving stasis pods, stabilisers especially for patients with life-threatening illnesses.

The pair entered into one such room before long, in the middle of which was a large glass bed chamber. _Hard to believe how simple that stasis pod looks._ And laying inside it was the young boy Logan rescued, asleep with a mask over his mouth and monitors keeping track of his heartbeat and brain activity. His tattered clothes were removed to reveal a nigh-skeletal broken body with scars and burns that horribly plagued his skin. They could almost see his heart beating against his chest.

Logan cringed as he and Catherine approached the pod. "I should have come sooner."

Catherine frowned sympathetically as she lent a comforting hand over her old friend's shoulder, or at least tried to. "It'll be a while before he is cured of radiation sickness and his health stabilises, Logan. I could only imagine what the young lad had to go through."

"You don't have to. I was in the damn thick of it! It's dejavu all over again!"

"Please," she sighed. "Don't punch yourself over it. You did what you could."

Logan frowned. "I saw his parents, Catherine." Closing his eyes, the Agent took a deep breathh. "There was next to nothing left of them."

There was a long standing silence as she let her arm over her former partner's shoulder to comfort him. "Think of it like this, love. At least you were there to save the boy. No doubt his mum and dad would have appreciated it, whoever they were."

"_J-Ja_. Whoever they were." Yet that kept gnawing at him.


	3. Chapter 3: An Awakening

**_Through a Board Director's Eyes: A tale beyond the RDNA-verse._**

**_Or, a snapshot from within the Agency._**

**Chapter 3 - An Awakening**

Inside the offices of the Agency's Medical Department.

"This is astonishing!" Catherine gasped in awe as she read through the scans on the young boy's health status the day after arriving at the Agency. "This. This is _nothing_ like I've ever seen before!"

_Really now..._ Looking up from his coffee mug, Logan raised an eyebrow, feigning curiousity despite his exhaustion. "That's something, coming from _you_ of all people. What does it say?"

"His immune system is recovering far faster than I first thought," Catherine said as she scrolled through the data and charts on her office's holographic screen. "Brain activity's above normal, even for adult standards. His heart and lungs are significantly larger too. He's definitely not a normal lad. I-it's like something straight out of those comic books!"

"I've heard of weirder rumors," the Austrian Agent sighed as he knowingly sipped his coffee. "Ever heard of personified countries?"

"That's just full of bollocks!" She immediately chided before clearing her throat. "Unscientific, I mean. Who in their bloody mind would approve of such nonsense?! I doubt the aliens here would agree with you."

The senior Agent frowned at her response in disappointment and dismay. _Though I wish you're right._ He shrugged it off as he went back to his coffee. _If that is how you see them, Catherine..._

"Huh, that's funny," she suddenly muttered after a long moment of silence.

Logan glanced up to her once again. "What is it now, _Frau Doktor_?"

The woman's eyes shifted frequently on the holographic screen in front of her before pulling away, confused by the information it was giving her. "The computer's not able to identify what your newest arrival's species is. Apparently, he's anything _but_ human," she explained, while scratching her head.

"So what does it say?"

"Other than a label saying 'UNKNOWN'?" Catherine sighed. "He's not of alien origin either. It's as if the boy is an almost complete anomaly. This has never happened before."

_Not for you, anyway._ Then a minute sooner, something appeared on her holographic screen that caught her attention, her mind clearly racing as she checked the live updating data charts.

"Blimey. Bloody hell!" she gasped. "The boy's shouldn't be healing this quickly!"

Then outside the office's walls, there was a loud commotion as the door suddenly flung open by a female reptilian-humanoid being in a medical staff's uniform and doctor coat.

"Mrs. Kimberly! You must come now!"

"What's happened?!" the senior Austrian operative demanded as he stood up.

However both he and his British friend were dragged out of the office room by the alien doctor. Quickly following her through the hallway towards the stasis pods unit, standing around the corridor were other doctors and staff of different backgrounds and species. Many looked shaken, shocked or were cringing in pain, with one having a wound on his arm.

"By the gods," one of them swore in Agency-standard English. "That child's strength is vicious!"

_Nein, Nein, this shouldn't be happening!_ Logan shook his head at the sight. "_Mein Gott_, what happened here?!" He demanded.

"That thing tried to kill us!"

"_Schiesse._ The little rascal can't possibly be that bad! Where is he?"

"He ran off," a young nurse with feline appearance panted, breathing heavily from shock. "The young boy panicked as soon as he woke up and begun attacking us! We tried to restraint him. B-but he was too strong."

"If it helps ease your minds, I'll contact the higher-ups," Catherine cut in as she turned away, though not before glancing at Logan. "Looks like your call, love."

Logan sighed as he rubbed the temples of his forehead. "Which way did that boy go?"

All of the staff members pointed the direction almost simultaneously. With a nod, the senior operative quickly went off. Cautiously wandering through the halls of the ICU, he spotted a suspiciously open door at the far end. Carefully, he rushed to the door's edge of a large dark medical room that had not been in use for some time.

As he did so however, he heard sobbing. A voice of a crying, brown-haired child no older than 10, mumbling in languages he recognized. Languages Logan understood all too clearly. Peeking inside, he saw the boy curled up on the floor and silently weeping.

"Mama...Papa, where are you?! ... I'm so sorry..." The boy muttered tearfully in mixed German and Hungarian.

Logan felt his heart ache at the somber sight. After taking a deep breath, cautiously and silently he approached the child. _Gott, I hope this works._

"Hey there, kid," he whispered in German. "I'm not here to hurt you."

The young boy jumped up in alarm and fright almost immediately as soon as Logan spoke up. On his bare feet, the kid backed away from the aging Agent. His wide dark blue eyes, even in the darkness of the room looked almost like voids and unable to naturally reflect light from the light outside the door. Both filled with fear and confusion. "St-Stay away from me!" he shouted back. "Get back!"

"Shh, kid," he reassured him as he took off his fedora. "I'm just a old man. What harm can I do?"

"T-they all say that! I'm not going to let you take me away! You won't _use_ me! NEVER AGAIN!" the boy cried out as his back reached the wall behind him. Tears running down his puffed red cheeks.

"Is'd okay, kid. I'm not going to hurt you. I won't let anyone else do that to you, alright?" The senior operative softly said. He saw what the warlords from the young boy's home world had done to the child, his pale skin plagued with horrid scars from whatever experiments they subjected him to. "What's your name?"

"J-Jonatan," the boy replied, still frightened of the strange wrinkly man in front of him. "W-who are you? Where am I? How did I get here?! Where's Mama and Papa?! WHERE ARE THEY?!"

At that point, even Logan could no longer pretend to smile. "I don't know how to say this, kid. But your parents..." He sighed. "...are no longer here. But you're safe here. Here in the Agency."

The boy stared at Logan, the child's eyes widening in shock. "I-I don't like this place. Take me back!"

"Neither did I, though it's not so bad once y-"

"I WANT TO GO BACK!"

Logan was taken aback, "I-"

"You CAN, right?!"

"_Nein_," he sighed. "That world's dead, kid. Not a single soul left there. You're the only living survivor."

The young boy gasped. "_Nein, Nem_! Mama and Papa were with me. THEY WERE WITH ME! TH-"

"I'm very sorry, pal," Logan said softly. It pained him to even admit it. "They're gone. Forever."

Jonatan shook his head as he tried to back way. It only pained Logan even further, not only to see the young survivor he had saved breaking down but shattered to the core. Unable to take in the raw emotions from this news, on top of every horrid experience seared into the child's mind.

There was little that Logan can do for him. _But I can't let him go mad from it!_ "I'm sorry." He immediately grabbed the boy and then, grimacing, he reached for a sedative. "I truly am."

He heard the boy gasped before slump asleep in his arms as the sedative took effect. He sighed heavily, carefully lifting his body. Glancing down at the kid, he couldn't help but to think back to his own children and grandchildren in his current home. Of his own childhood in a world that no longer existed.

"Don't worry," he mumbled to no one. "You won't be alone here. Not if I can help it."

He glanced over to the doorway to find Catherine in front panting. "How is he?" There was a grim, knowing look in her eyes.

"Put him somewhere where he doesn't feel like he's in a cell." He then took a deep breath as he looked back at the boy in his arms. "Looks like my work here is just beginning."

And as he watched the medical crew once more attend to the boy, he wondered whether he was far more right than he realized.


	4. Chapter 4: Heir to Dust

**_Through a Board Director's Eyes: A tale beyond the RDNA-verse._**

**_Or, a snapshot from within the Agency._**

**Chapter 4 - Heir to Dust**

It had been weeks since Logan Herz returned from his last "undertaker" mission with the young boy. The aging Agent had barely been able to get much sleep, spending the past days trying to focus on the piles of data that he was able to gather from the now dead world. _And on his true origins,_ he thought wearily while glancing about his old-fashioned, carpet-covered office. His mind, however remained on Jonatan. He knew that Catherine would take great care of the kid's health. _But there's more to it than just that. Much more._

"Severe malnutrition and starvation. Severe scarring over 70% of his body. Signs of physical abuse, torture and extermination," the British woman sighed across from him as she read through her findings from a data tablet. "His genetics have altered so much from their original make up that the poor child's no longer considered as a normal human being per se, Logan."

The Agent sighed as he leaned on his seat. "What about his mental state?"

He received a frown from his long-time colleague. "I was afraid you'd bloody say that, love. He is severely traumatised, both mentally _and_ emotionally. One of the worst ones I've seen. God forbid, it could be permanent." She shook her head. "I don't know, Logan. Whatever happened to the young lad, I doubt he will _ever_ have something, _anything_ of a normal life."

Deep down, Logan long resigned himself to the notion that Jonatan would never have one. But he would be damned if he couldn't give him something approaching it. _His parents would have died for nothing if that were true._

Catherine sighed as she put her tablet on sleep mode and leaned on the wood-paneled table. "The poor boy's been suffering from nightmares these past few nights. Pale as a ghost. He won't let anyone come near him, including myself. He hasn't been eating either. And honestly, it's very worrying to say the least, especially as a mother."

"His _real_ mother is rotting away somewhere, sometime," Logan sighed. "What little's left of her anyway."

The British woman frowned as she leaned closer to her old Austrian friend. "I still don't believe that theory of yours on this personification bollocks. But perhaps you can help the lad better than I could. After all, you were the one who brought him here."

Logan smiled wryly at that, "_Ja_, I have been thinking about that. Do you really think so?"

"If I dare to hope," she sighed as she returned the favor.

-0-

Looking through the doorway, Logan found Jonatan sitting up on the medical bed, staring out the wide window to the gardens surrounding the Medical Centre and the alien galactic sky soaring above this strange land. _Must be quite a sight for him. Just like my first time here._ Even now, it still astounded the jaded man.

His mind however remained haunted by the revelation he gained upon going through every single piece of data he had. In particular, the realization that his original suspicions about the child's true parents were entirely correct. _Mein Gott, all of it!_ It was clear that the strangeness of the kid's condition was not entirely from whatever experiments were done on him, and much more to do with his heritage. Which like the photograph of the boy's long-dead family, only opened more questions than answers.

Still, Logan took a deep breath as he entered the room. Besides the few essential medical equipment and seats with the odd desk here and there, the white medical room was largely empty but just large enough to avoid feeling like a cage. And in the middle was the child himself, now wearing the white hospital garments they give to patients here. _Here it goes._

"Jonatan?" he asked softly in German.

The boy turned, startled for a moment before sliding into an unreadable frown. "_J-Ja?_"

The Austrian gave a soft smile to the young boy as he grabbed an empty chair to sit on. "_Wie geht es dir_? I heard that you've been having bad nightmares, kid."

He could see the boy's body tensing up a bit. Still, Jonatan tried to shrug. "T-They keep happening. But I can manage, _Herr_..."

"Logan. Logan Herz," the aging Agent replied. His hand slipped into the pockets of his inner jacket and brought out a small, brown paper bag. Inside, freshly baked apple strudel. "Here, my granddaughter made this."

The child was hesitant at first, reluctant before he eventually took the pastry after his nose caught its sweet smell.

Logan silently chuckled as he watched Jonatan pick and examine a piece of the apple strudel. "Go on, _bitte._ you must be very hungry."

The kid perked his head up to the Agent before tilting his head back to the pastry in his hand. After a sniff, he put the whole piece into his mouth. A few bites and chews later, Logan could see his face lighten up and a smile starting to creep across his pale face.

"Well, do you like it?" The Austrian asked him. "My little sprout's quite the cook."

Jonatan nodded warmly after swallowing. "I-I never had anything like this before, _Herr_ Herz!"

"_Bitte_, call me Logan. No need for formalities here, kid!" the older man insisted, happy to see the young boy enjoying himself with the pastry. His smile however turned to a frown when his attention shifted to the scars marking the boy's skin. On one of the boy's arms was a tattoo, the numbers '005' painfully stenciled with crude black ink. Along with everything he discovered in that world's dying moments and the child's nigh-skeletal body, he could still only imagine what Jonatan had to go through. "_Gott_, what happened to you back in that hellhole?"

Jonatan stopped for a moment before turning his head away. There was a sigh, a very heavy and strained one. "Y-You wouldn't want to know," he answered. His body grew even more tense than before, as if he was trying to hold back something horrible from his mind.

Logan noted this instantly. He softly sighed as he reached out to the boy's hand, "It's alright. Those sons of bitches won't get you here. You're safe now."

Jonatan glanced up to the old man. And for a moment Logan saw a shade of violet glimmer in the boy's unnaturally dark blue eyes. The boy then glanced over to the window, the wide greenery gardens and the galactic sky above. "So many stars. This, this isn't a d-dream. Right?"

The old man wearily smiled. "It's not. And if it is so, then I won't let you wake up. Not while I'm alive."

Jonatan nodded. His head looking down to his scarred arms. "Then is, _nem, was_ my world, those horrible people, m-my parents..." He began sobbing again. "Are they a dream too?!"

Logan was taken aback by this. It suddenly became very hard to answer back._Then again, even my old home never got as bad as yours._ "_Es tut mir leid_," he replied solemnly. "Like I said, kid. We can no longer go back. Your world's gone. Just like mine."

There was an uneasy silence from the boy before he nodded as a tear rolled down his cheek. "_Ja_."

Logan remained by Jonatan's bedside as evening fell over the Hub Sanctuary, as the Agency's domain was often called. There were even more stars glittering above in the strange night sky. The young boy had fallen asleep over a hour ago. Sighing gently as he glanced over to the sleeping child, he ruffled the kid's hair a bit. The rest of his duty and report can wait for now. He had decided almost from the beginning that he would take him in.

_For his sake. And theirs._ He had never forgotten the sight that greeted him when he first found that child in those wastes. Two rapidly decaying bodies, the rotting remnants of their clothes and hair the only trace of their former identities: a bespectacled, noble man of Austria, and a spirited yet affectionate Magyar woman. Two people he had seen in myriad forms and in various other worlds._Alive. But not this time._ He had known all along.

"_Frau und Herr_ Edelstein-Hedervary," he murmured to no one in particular. "I can never replace you. But I'll look after him, I promise."

Soon, he saw Jonatan suddenly tensed up in his sleep. His body arching on itself and limbs began to twitch, "_Nein, _bitte/i stop," the child muttered painfully in his slumber. Experiencing another terrible nightmare.

"_Verdammt_!" he swore to himself. The kid's body begun to shake as Logan tried to somehow calm the young boy before it could get any worse.

Suddenly, the child's eyes snapped wide open and let out a sharp, painful gasp. He was pale once again and covered in cold sweat. The boy glanced up to the startled Austrian man, panting heavily as his heart and lungs pounded against his chest.

"Look at me," the Agent snapped. "Just look at me, kid! No one's gonna hurt you."

Jonatan stared into Logan's own weary grey eyes. A look of terror fading as tears started forming. "I-I miss them. Mama. Papa..."

The Austrian scooped the boy into comforting hug, soothing the boy's back as he cried on his shoulder. "Don't worry," he whispered. 'You'll be fine, kid."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm very certain, Jonatan. I made a promise."

The child paused before returning the hug, clinging onto the old man and continued sobbing quietly on his shoulder. It would be a long night.

* * *

><p><strong>For some added information:<strong>

_Es tut mir leid _- "I'm sorry." (German)


	5. Chapter 5: Surrogate Family

**Author's Notes: **Here's the last main chapter of the fic, though not quite just yet. Hopefully through this interesting take on a story, you enjoyed the ride!

* * *

><p><strong><em>Through a Board Director's Eyes: A tale beyond the RDNA-verse.<em>**

**_Or, a snapshot from within the Agency._**

**Chapter 5 - Surrogate Family**

On a balcony above the Sanctuary Gardens.

"So, you wish to adopt the child, Mister Herz?" The ancient dragon-esque being known as Madam Gverza, asked Logan in impeccable English. As the High Director of the Agency and his old superior back in his junior days as an Agent, she easily towered over him. Over two and a half metres tall. "I was just about to call you about this young boy you rescued some months ago. Jonatan Edelstein-Hedervary, wasn't it?"

"_Ja_," the Austrian nodded calmly as handed the last of the paperwork regarding to the adoption and legal guardianship over the child's well-being. "But I don't think it's a good idea to use that surname. The last thing the kid needs is to be constantly reminded of his ordeal." _Or his heritage._

"The Edelstein-Hedervary name is _his_ birthright, as much a part of him as the rest of his inheritance. He will have to confront that one day, Logan. Denying him that will only delay it," Madam Gverza chided.

The senior Agent sighed, biting back his tongue. The ancient being was right, after all. "Perhaps. But the he's lost _everything_. _Gott,_he lived through the last days of his already hellish world! Not to mention saw his own parents die!"

"So I was told, Mister Herz," the figure nodded with a saddened frown. "So I was told. But won't it be better for the child to learn how to cope with what he had endured? Rather than forgetting and wishing it all away as if they were nothing? As I said, the time will almost certainly come, whether he likes it or not. Sooner or later-"

"I _know_, Gverza!" he snapped before clearing his throat in an attempt to calm down. _Just like my first meeting with her. Can't ruin this now!_ "It will be a very long road to recovery for the kid, no matter how tough he is. But the past and future will have to wait. Jonatan's well-being is _my_ concern. Surely you understand that." He knew that whatever choice he would make there and then would leave a lasting impact on the boy.

Madam Gverza nodded, a knowing smile appearing on her face as she held his hand. "Much like what _you_ put up with perhaps, Logan?"

_Ja, very much so, come to think of it._ For a brief moment, he recalled another world's dying light. And a young Austrian man out of school getting yanked out just in the nick of time before his world was consumed by atomic fire. _Saved. By you._ Still, the Agent managed to smirk wearily. "I'm surprised you remembered the old days, Madam. But that was a long, _long_ damn time ago."

The being returned the gesture with a smile. "No matter. I trust that you will do your duty as the boy's new caretaker. The child may not have an ordinary life but at least give him a good one, my good friend."

"You can count on it," he replied with a soft nod. "Just you wait."

-0-

15 years later.

Smiling for a moment, Logan took out a more recent photograph of Jonatan in his graduation attire, taken just outside the steps of the University of Vienna. _Back in my new home anyway. Guess I did a fine job raising that kid._ And following his footsteps, the young man had become one of the Agency's best operatives. Highly skilled with many capabilities such as combat, weaponry, espionage, impersonation and reading body language, as well as being highly knowledgeable in many topics like history, culture and language, he went above and beyond what was expected of even most other Agents. But despite that, he was still quiet and rather awkward when it came to socialising with others outside the his closest friends, let alone his family. A pleasant and dependable young man. Almost like a son to him. _Almost._

Indeed the young Agent grew up to inherit many traits from his parents. _His true ones._ Jonatan after all had the same face and hair like his father as well as the softness and build of his mother. His father's leadership and sense of initiative displayed the most in difficult moments, while his mother's kindness and warmth showed when with close associates.

And as much as Logan was proud of his adopted kid, it also worried him. From what the Austrian learned in all those years of being his caretaker, any mention of his sordid past usually triggered his traumatic if at times painfully severe episodes. Even after all that time, no treatment and method the Agency had to offer provided much consolation in fully erasing the pain of losing everything. Still, the child persevered. _But for how long?_

It wasn't long before a hovering probe returned to the old Board Director, "[Logan Herz]," it intoned in stilted German. "[Your presence has been requested in the Portal Terminal.]"

"Oh, who is it now you bucket of bolts?"

"[A Caddison Dawnwood has returned from the universe codenamed RDNA-verse. She requests for your presence immediately concerning two persons she brought over from said world.]"

_I was wondering why the lass was taking so long there..._ This perked the old Austrian's interest. "Well then, it'd be nice to meet some kindred spirits. That will be all."

He packed the documents back into their files and headed over towards the elevator lift to the surface. But not before taking one last look at the grimly yellowed photograph of an aged Roderich Edelstein and his frail wife, Elizaveta Hedervary smiling with a familiar kid.

_Their kid._

"You have my word," the Board Director whispered under his breath as he got going. For a brief moment, he thought there were two other figures closeby. But maybe that was just his fatigue.

As the elevator doors closed behind Logan, two ethereal voices could been heard whispering.

_"Wir sind dankbar..."_

"Köszönöm."

**-ENDE-VEG-**

* * *

><p><strong>For some added information:<strong>

Caddison Dawnwood is another OC from the RP by Aufigirl: an Australian young lady turned Agent sent to the RDNA-verse who is a lot more than she appears to be.

_Wir sind dankbar_ - "We are grateful." (German)  
><em>Köszönöm<em> - "Thankful." (Hungarian)


	6. Epilogue: In Memoriam

**Author's Notes: **Here's the final part of the collaborated _Hetalia_ AU fic with Aufigirl from DeviantArt. This one though, while it could be a one-shot on its own, seemed more fitting as an epilogue given it mostly still focuses on the protagonist's memories. At the same time, there's a reason why it's _mostly_ given that Austria and Hungary play an even larger role here...with tragic and bittersweet consequences. Not to mention why the last scene includes untranslated dialogue...

In any case, I hope you enjoyed the ride in this rather different take on fic-writing!

* * *

><p><strong><em>Through a Board Director's Eyes: A tale beyond the RDNA-verse.<em>**

**_Or, a snapshot from within the Agency._**

**Epilogue - In Memoriam**

15 years ago...

Logan was part of a small expedition in yet another "undertaker" mission. The aging Austrian operative, now considered a veteran in his line of work, was put in charge as the expedition's leader. But this time though seemed different. Peculiar readings from this world, designated APH-0987-45, prompted him and his fellows to return here one more time. Officially, it's to collect whatever else could be salvaged and find if possible the source of the strange, if faint readings. _Which shouldn't make damn sense_, he mused while going through rubble. No one was supposed to be alive here. If anyone was left, they surely must be on their last breath by now.

They were at the fringes of what was once a small community, presumably of what was left of humanity. It was very eerie to say the least. There wasn't even a sound from the wind. Underneath his grey coat, he was wearing protective body suits and a transparent mask underneath his hood. His suit's programmed body safeguard protection should be enough to protect him from the radiation effects. _Enough to kill a man in a matter of hours. At least it's better than those bulky radsuits..._

"Sir, there's no sign of life anywhere here," one of his expedition members muttered through a vox-radio. "There's no one left."

"Keep searching, damn it!" he groaned. "At the very least, we should be able to find the source of this mess!" Looking around, he caught glimpses of what the last days of this world must have been like.

"To think there was a war here just weeks ago. Torn this place apart until there's nothing left here," one of the newer members of the undertaker expedition crew mumbled, rather upsettingly as an older member put his arm over his colleague in comfort.

_And who could blame 'em?_ Here and there were the remains of belongings: books, furniture, broken toys and other artifacts left over from far better times. From a world before an even greater conflict than the once that had just happened consumed it in fire. _And signed everyone's death warrants._ All surrounded by rotting corpses, some of which no longer looked human. Logan remembered the first time he took this undertaker duty.

"_Monsieur_ Logan!" One of the French-speaking Agents called out to the Austrian as she and another colleague approached him. "I think we found a signal, but it's very faint."

"Where?!"

They pointed to a faint path leading away from the smoking ruins. It was towards the barren lands beyond that were covered in even more dangerous levels of fallout. _All while this settlement bled itself to nothing._

"Not even my world's end got this bad," he sighed to himself before following the trail, motioning the expedition to keep pace. As he did, he approached an all too familiar hamlet, or rather what remained of a more decent home. This was one of the first places he came to when he and his team first arrived at this now dead world. _This really can't be..._

Glancing about, he noticed objects scattered about the floor. Objects that weren't visible the last time he was here. The trail, now with more discenable footprints, seemed to go past a hole in the hovel and back into the dusty wastes. But among the scattered items on the floor was a peculiar photograph. It was yellowed with age and nearly colorless. He gently picked up the photograph, careful not to rip it or cause damage. It was of a young family with their son in the middle. Yet something about the parents seemed oddly familiar. Almost like a coincidence. _Gott, this can't be them...can it?_ Before he could look closer, he heard a faint cry in the distance.

"Um, _Monsieur_ Logan?"

Logan turned around to find the French woman and the rest of his increasingly jittery team.

"Did you hear something?"

"Hear what, _Monsieur_?"

_Verdammt, can't be in my head!_ Without saying another word, the Austrian rushed to follow the trail once more. With each passing second, the footsteps grew more fresh, the faint sounds more audible. Over the horizon, he saw a great mass of rubble and fallen buildings on both sides of a now dried up riverbed. After running down the trail for who knew how long, at the middle of the former Danube, he finally saw what looked like a small group of people laying on the dry bedrock. Fighting exhaustion as he came closer and closer, he ran towards them.

_Gott, you better not die on me! You...Nein..._

What Logan found however made his heart sink with shock. Before him were two dead bodies, rapidly decaying with each passing second. Hands reaching out for each other. Despite their rotted clothing, hair and dwindling skin, there was still enough to identify the remains. One was of a woman. The other, a man. He noticed a peculiar dead flower still attached on the dead woman's hair. A pair of cracked glasses laying close to the dead man's corpse. For a brief moment, he thought they seemed familiar. _As if they're...Nein, couldn't be!_

He lowered his head, more overcome with grief than any sense of sickness. "_Gott_. I'm too late..."

It was then that he noticed the body of a small child not far from the two decaying corpses, an arm outstretched as if trying in vain to reach for them. A young boy in ragged garments who, despite his nigh-skeletal body, looked more asleep than dead but not by much. Logan quickly went over to check on the child.

"_Bitte_, be alive. _Durch Gottes Willen_!" he swore as he took out his sonic probe, scanning the boy's body. To his relief, he noticed a faint pulse from the child's chest. That it seemed incredibly unusual for any human being to survive this crumbling world up to this point, for a brief moment didn't register to the Agent. All that matter was this lone survivor's safety. _I have to get him out of here!_

"Mr. Herz?!"

Logan carefully picked up the near-dying boy and turned to his expedition team who had been trying to catch up with him. "We found what we came for! Quickly, get us back to the Portal Terminal NOW! _Schnell_!"

"About time!" the other Agent sighed. "This world's very stability is on the brink!"

Soon afterwards, all members of the undertaker exhibition team were teleported away in a flash of light, one by one. The leader with his unconscious discovery sighed, looking at the corpses as the light consumed them both.

"I'm sorry, kid. I couldn't save them..."

-0-

"Do I get to stay with you, _Herr_ Logan?" A now recovering and healthier looking Jonatan timidly asked Logan on his medical bed in the Medical Center.

The old Austrian nodded warmly. "How time flies. Eh, kid?"

It had been six months since the old Agent rescued the child out of that dying world. _And none too soon._ While the child was still very thin and fragile, it masked the incredibly fast recovery Jonatan had...

The young boy shyly smiled. "I'm going to live with your family, _ja_?"

"Of course!" Logan smiled. "Wouldn't want you to be out alone here!"

"Are they nice?"

"_Ja_. They are. Good people, one and all."

Jonatan nodded, almost hesitantly before looking out the window at the soaring galactic sky of the Hub Sanctuary.

Logan sighed softly before he took out a little present from the inner pockets of his jacket. "Hey, I've something for you. It is your birthday today, _ja_?"

Jonatan raised his eyebrow as he turned to the old Austrian man. "W-Why did you ask?" The young boy was then given a wrapped up present, very confused at first.

"Go on, _Bitte_. Open it," Logan encouraged the young boy. He watched as the kid carefully unwrapped the ribbon and wrapping paper to find a box. His smile however became somber when Jonatan opened the lid.

It was a small, framed photograph. A vividly coloured copy of a very familiar young family, with a much younger Jonatan smiling in the middle. Even the wilted flower on his late mother's brown hair seemed to glimmer. The boy stared at the picture frame as he held it in his hands with wide silent eyes.

"I asked a good friend of mine to make a colored copy of the original photograph. It took some time, but it paid off. Just for you, kid," Logan explained in a soft tone.

Jonatan's hands shook the more he stared at the picture. "H-How?!" he gasped. Then with startling speed, the kid crumpled the replica and threw it out the window. This took the old Austrian aback. He didn't expect the child's reaction to be like this. "I'm - I'm sorry," he said as he hugged his legs on his bed, tears beginning to well up.

The old Austrian sighed as the boy looked down, hair covering his face as tears dropped from his cheeks. "_Nein_, I shouldn't have done that. Perhaps one day-"

"_NEM_! I don't want it!" Jonatan snapped at him angrily before his face softened down to a very apologetic look, "I don't want to see it again." His head buried in his arms as he cried. "I don't _want_ to see them anymore!"

Without saying a word, Logan stood up and laid a gentle pat on the child's back before turning away. _One day, you'll have to face it..._ But as he was about to exit the room, he turned back with a melancholy smile. "Trust me on this, kid. You'll make it. You've _got _to."

-0-

All was quiet inside Jonatan's medical room as the night dragged on. The young boy was soundly asleep. His pillow however, had long become a bit dampened. A soft hand, however gently cradled the young child's cheek, wiping away the tears as he slept. Even if he couldn't feel it.

"_Dies ist nicht richtig_," a male voice whispered in an elegant if melancholy accent.

"_Nem. Ez nem,_" the voice of a woman answered back in a soft tone.

Glancing about, the two figures saw an aging man in a rustled, old-fashioned suit and tie asleep on a chair.

"_Also blieb er. Eine edle österreichische, dass man._"

"_Talán ez a legjobb, szerelmem. Ő majd lesz egy jó őre a mi gyermekünk._"

The ghostly figure of a man in tattered clothing and cracked glasses nodded somberly. In his hands was the crumbled replica of the family photograph Jonatan had thrown away. A moment of much happier times captured in one photo.

"_Unser Kind nicht dieses Schicksal verdient. Er sollte nicht so leiden._"

The woman, in her tattered dress and an odd withered flower nestled on her hair, frowned. Saddened as she looked at the child. _Their_ son.

For a moment, Jonatan stirred in his sleep. Audibly muttering out, "...Mama...Papa..."

The wisps formerly known as Roderich Edelstein and Elizaveta Hedervary were still coping with their changing forms. But even in their current state, they could do little else to console their son.

"_Nagyon sajnálom, a fiam_," the mother somberly said as she gave her child a soft kiss on his forehead. "_Mi mindig itt figyel téged._"

For a moment, Jonatan seemed to relax a bit as he continued to sleep. The father gently placed the crumbled picture frame down on the bedside table before going over to his wife's side. Without saying a word, they held each others' hands.

"_Boldog születésnapot_, Jonatan."

Logan stirred up abruptly as he grumbly woke up. He groaned as he looked his wristwatch. "_Gott_. It is that late already."

He then noticed the framed photograph that Jonatan threw out the window earlier today, now on top of the table next to the bed. But when the old Agent looked around for any signs of entry, there was nothing else other than a sleeping kid and the dim night sky beyond the window. It puzzled him as he glanced back over to the picture.

"Then how did you get back here?" He asked in no one in particularly as he picked it up. He shook his head. _Must be fatigue again... _He glanced over to the Jonatan, soundly asleep before looking back at the photograph. Logan knew deep down that he could never truly replace the boy's true family, let alone his heritage.

_But you needn't worry. I promise._

**-ENDE-VEG-**

* * *

><p>For some added information:<p>

The Agency, as it's known in human tongue, is an interdimensional organisation crossing between the multiverse. For those-in-the-know, its main objective is knowledge and intelligence with the largest database in existence. The organization employs millions of operatives across its operations from different worlds and backgrounds, both human and alien. It also hosts the largest refugee center in the multiverse for the "displaced" within its domain: the Hub Sanctuary, which itself is a world of its own. Due to its abundance of precious data and network of outreaching contacts, the Agency remains "invisible" and officially under a neutral stance for those aware of its existence. _Allegedly_. Many however believe that it does not exist at all.

_Durch Gottes Willen_ - "By God's will." (German)  
><em>Dies ist nicht richtig<em> - "This is not right." (German)  
><em>Also blieb er. Eine edle österreichische, dass man.<em> - "So he stayed. A fine Austrian, that one."  
><em>Unser Kind nicht dieses Schicksal verdient. Er sollte nicht so leiden.<em> - "Our child does not deserve this fate. He should not suffer so." (German)  
><em>Nem. Ez nem.<em> - "No. This does not." (Hungarian)  
><em>Talán ez a legjobb, szerelmem. Ő majd lesz egy jó őre a mi gyermekünk.<em> "This is probably the best, love. He will be a good guardian to our child." (Hungarian)  
><em>Nagyon sajnálom, a fiam. Mi mindig itt figyel téged.<em> - "I am very sorry for my son. We will always be here watching you." (Hungarian)  
><em>Boldog születésnapot<em> - "Happy Birthday." (Hungarian)


End file.
